Islam Times - Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami says the Islamic Republic will seek permission from no country to bolster its defense power.

Brig. Gen. Hatami made the remark on Saturday, which marked the beginning of the annual Sacred Defense Week in Iran.

“As long as the rhetoric of some [countries] is one of threat, Iran’s reinforcement of its defense power will continue,” the Iranian defense minister said, adding that, “Iran will not seek permission from any country to produce different missiles, and land, naval, and aerial defense weapons.”

During his speech at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had accused the Islamic Republic of “building dangerous missiles.”

Iran has said time and again that its defense might — including its missile capabilities — are for purely defensive purposes. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani publicly reiterated that point in his own speech at the UNGA on Wednesday.

“I wish to underscore here that the defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including our missiles, are solely defensive deterrents for the maintenance of regional peace and stability and the prevention of adventurist tendencies of irrational aspirants,” President Rouhani said.